10 Notes on the Nidifcation of Indian Birds. [July, 



blood-like stains, which sometimes tend to form a ring near the larger 

 end — shape oval, somewhat tapering ; diameter 1 Jg. x \i inches. 

 No. 13. — " Pomatorhinus erythrogenys," Vigors. 

 P. ferruffilatus, Hodgson. 

 Common from 3,500 feet up to 10,000 or 12,000 feet ; always in 

 pairs, turning up the dead leaves on copse-wood covered hanks, utter- 

 ing a loud whistle, answering and calling each other. It breeds in 

 April, constructing its nest on the ground, of coarse dry grasses and 

 leaf stalks of walnut trees, &c. ; covered with a dome-shaped roof so 

 nicely blended with the fallen leaves and withered grasses among which 

 it is placed as to be almost undistinguishable from them. The eggs 

 are 3 in number and pure white; diameter 1 T 3 ? x if inches, of an 

 ordinary oval shape. When disturbed the bird sprung along the ground 

 with long bounding hops so quickly, that from its motions and the 

 appearance of the nest, I was led to believe it a species of Rat. The 

 nest is placed in a slight hollow, probably formed by the bird itself. 

 No. 14. — " Pycnonotus leucogenys," Gray. 



Ixos leucogenys, Hodgson & Gray. 

 Brachypus leucogenys, (Hardw., Gray. 111. 

 Ind. Zool. 

 Common in the Doon all the year, and in the hills during the sum- 

 mer. It breeds in April and May. The nest is neat and cup-shaped, 

 placed in the forks of bushes or pollard trees, and is composed exter- 

 nally of the dried stalks of " Forget-me-not," — lined with fine grass- 

 stalks ; eggs 3 or 4, rosy or faint purplish white, thickly sprinkled with 

 specks and spots of darker rufescent purple or claret colour ; diameter 

 it * i% inches ; — diameter of nest 2\ inches and 1^ inch deep. 

 Sometimes the outside of the nest is composed of fine dried stalks of 

 woody plants, whose roughness causes them to adhere together. 

 No. 15. — " Hypsipetes psaroides," Vigors. 

 Exceedingly common at Mussooree in large flocks during the winter 

 and spring. In the latter season, when the Rhododendron arboreum 

 is covered with its bunches of deep crimson flowers, these birds may be 

 seen thrusting their beaks into every flower in search of insects and 

 nectar, and the forehead is in consequence then generally covered with 

 the pollen and sweets derived from the flowers. It pairs in April and 

 appears fond of the wild mulberries and other forest berries which 



